The Season of 4
by cotronix
Summary: 4 Seasons; 4 mermaids.  This is the epic tale... or, tail?...  of not only the four reuniting, but of secrets and romance!  Woo!  Enjoy :D
1. Chapter 1

Emma Gilbert was shaking from adrenaline as she walked through the airport. She was, at long last, back in her home country. Her parents tagged along at her right side, lugging their luggage along like it was full of bricks.

"Mom, dad, hurry up or we'll miss the shuttle," Emma called as she started walking faster. She was here in Australia for the summer, visiting her old friends. It needed to be a surprise, of course, so she'd drop off her luggage at the new summer house, hurry over to the Juicenet, and hope her besties were there.

She did just that. But the Juicenet was full of old people. And it was renamed 'Flamingo Bingo'.

Plan B: Swim to Mako and hang out there until someone shows up.

Emma missed the Aussie waters, and swimming them again refreshed her memories of the good times she shared. Mako made her even more friend-sick. She waited there for about 10 minutes when a second head popped up.

"Hey," said the surprised girl, a blonde mermaid with a lovely blue-charmed necklace.

"Hi," responded Emma politely. "You must be Bella. I've heard so much about you from Cleo and Rikki. And Zane, and Lewis… And Nate. And everyone else."

"Yup, that's me," Bella said shyly. "You have to be Emma then. I've heard a lot about you too. Why are you here, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I'm just here for the summer. My parents have a month's vacation, so we rented a summer home. It's sorta a surprise, so don't tell Cleo or Rikki." Emma liked this girl. It was a little weird, considering her belief of "three's good, four's bad", but Bella was the total opposite of Charlotte.

The girls talked for a little longer, but Bella was expected for a date with some guy named Will. They decided that Bella would make Cleo and Rikki come to the current hippest restaurant, Rikki's, for a concert later that night.


	2. Chapter 2

Cleo, Rikki, Zane, and Will cheered as Bella, Nate, Lewis, and these other two random guys were ready to get onstage. The house was packed, and Lewis was a little nervous. He hasn't performed in awhile.

"What song was first again?" he asked for the hundredth time.

Nate sighed. "'No Ordinary Girl'!" He yelled for the hundredth time. Nate and Lewis didn't get along very well in most parts of life, but when they played, the music sounded almost magical.

"We're on in one. Let's get up there!" shouted Bella above the cheering crowd.

Nate shot his fist in the air and ran onstage. The rest of the band followed.

Lewis started the song out with a drum solo. The crowd went crazy!

"That's my boyfriend! That, the drummer, Lewis, is my boyfriend!" Cleo was yelling to random people near her. Rikki rolled her eyes.

The guitars started the riff of 'No Ordinary Girl'. "I'd like to welcome everyone tonight," Bella said instead of singing. "Especially Rikki's special guest, back in her home continent, Emma!"

Looking better than ever, a certain mermaid that was missed walked onto the stage. The crowd cheered her on, and the guitars replayed the intro to the song. Emma took a breath and started singing:

"I've got a special power

That I'm not afraid to lose

Every waking hour

I discover something new"

Then Bella joined in:

"So come on this is our adventure

This is our fantasy

It's all about living in the ocean

Being wild and free!"

The crowd was booming as the girls sang. After the song ended Emma ran to Cleo and Rikki, hugging and smiling.

"I missed you guys so much!" Emma said.

"We missed you too!" Rikki replied.

"Welcome back," said Cleo.


	3. Chapter 3

No one was able to see the floor in Cleo's room.

It was filled with sleeping bags, magazines, junk food, and clothes!

The reason: Full moon sleepover!

Four girls were sitting on Cleo's bed, doing each other's toenails.

"Hey, what ever happened to Ash?" Cleo asked randomly. She and Rikki haven't talked about him, or even thought about him, for the past year. How odd, considering he knew all their secrets.

"We stayed in touch," started Emma. "And he's actually been at this guy's boarding school for the year. It's in New Zealand. He said he'd be back for the summer, though. He's arriving in 2 days."

"Who's Ash?" Bella asked with interest.

"Just the love of Emma's life," replied Rikki. Cleo nudged her.

"And he knows we're mermaids," added Cleo. "Don't worry, he's a great guy."

Bella nodded. Even though Emma was really nice, ever since she showed up, Bella felt like she was a little out of the loop.

"Speaking of people who know we're mermaids," Emma started nervously. "My little brother, Elliot, found out about me."

The other girls were suddenly wide-eyed.

"How?" asked Cleo in an urgent voice.

"We were walking a street in England when it started to rain. There wasn't really anywhere to go, and I pulled out my umbrella too late. Don't worry, no one else was really around. But he's really protective about it now." Emma giggled. "Whenever I get near water, Elliot has to warn me. He also tries to make me bring a raincoat everywhere I go."

The girls laughed. They trusted that little Elliot wouldn't tell a soul.

Little did they know that another person was going to find out the girls' secret. Someone who didn't mind spreading it around.


	4. Chapter 4

Bella and Will were at Bella's adorable beachside condo, cuddling on the couch and watching an old movie.

"I'm having the best time," said Will out of the blue.

Bella grinned. "Me too."

They leaned in for a kiss…

But Will's phone rang right before their lips touched.

"Sorry, I have to get this," Will whispered.

"Hello?" he asked. "Oh… Uh-huh… No problem… Kay… Bye."

He sighed. "That was Sophie. We have to go pick up my cousin at the airport. She's staying with us for the summer."

"Sounds fun. You'll have to introduce me." Bella loved meeting new people.

"Um, yeah I should. But I need to warn you that she's a little… high strung." Will shifted in his seat. "We never really got along."

"How could someone not get along with you? You're the best guy I know."

They leaned in again for a kiss. This time it actually happened.

Sophie pulled up in her little red sports car soon afterwards. The two said goodbye and Will got into the car.

"Hey Will," started Sophie. "Ready to go pick up Charlotte?"

"Sure, let's go," said Will. He tried to sound enthusiastic. Maybe Charlotte changed and he could actually get along with her this time. He was going to try his best to act kindly towards her. He knew Charlotte wasn't Sophie's biggest fan either, but they both agreed to it since the people who suggested it in the first place, their parents, were paying their rent.


	5. Chapter 5

Bella, Rikki, and Emma were sitting at a booth at Rikki's. They were talking about everything: the weather, college, their secret mermaid powers… Just normal teenage stuff.

Will, Sophie, and Charlotte entered.

"This is nice," commented Charlotte. She looked almost like a new person. She cut her hair to chin-length and dyed it a nice dark brown. So far she was getting along well with Will and Sophie.

Rikki was the first to spot the three. She nudged Emma and pointed over to Charlotte.

"Oh no," was all Emma could say.

"What's wrong?" asked Bella. She looked over to where the other two were staring. "Hey, that must be Will's cousin. Will, over here!" she called.

The other two looked over at her like she was crazy.

"Hey girls," said Will as him and Charlotte approached the table. Sophie went off to flirt. "I'd like you to meet my cousin, Charlotte."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Bella," Bella greeted. Charlotte smiled in return.

An awkward silence followed for about 5 seconds. Rikki was thinking Charlotte would scream 'THEY'RE MERMAIDS' or something. Emma just looked away, not wanting to deal with this again.

"And this is Emma and Rikki," Will finally said. Will and Bella were confused with the others' reactions to each other.

"Yes, I already know Emma and Rikki," said Charlotte. "We were friends junior year. We hung out together all the time. We know each other's… secrets." Most of the things she said sounded sweet, but the word 'secrets' reminded Rikki of a snake's rattle.

Suddenly Charlotte looked over her shoulder. Cleo and Lewis walked in, holding hands. It was like Charlotte had a super Lewis sensor or something.

Cleo looked around for her friends, but then she said a word that isn't known to be used on H2O.

"Lewis, look who's here," she whispered.

Charlotte ran up to him before he could react.

"Hey Lewis… Cleo… I'm so glad to see you again!" Charlotte hugged Lewis.

"Uh, nice to see you too?" Lewis replied awkwardly.

"Charlotte, could me and you talk? Alone?" said Cleo, trying to hide her anger.

"Yeah, sure," replied Charlotte sweetly. They headed to the back of the restaurant.

"So, why're you here?" started Cleo.

"My mum sent me here for the summer. She couldn't deal with me or something," said Charlotte.

Cleo believed her.

"You better not tell anyone. Or even hint. Because if you do, remember that we have mermaid powers. You don't." Cleo felt like she was the one with all the power this time. She could tell Charlotte what to do, and she couldn't do anything about it… She just had to remember to use it for good, not evil.

"Don't worry, I promise to keep your secret," Charlotte said in her so-sweet-you're-sick voice.

"And one more thing," added Cleo. "Keep away from Lewis. He's my boyfriend, not yours."

"No problem," Charlotte replied.

"Good," said Cleo.

"Good," said Charlotte.

They parted ways.


	6. Chapter 6

Nate was dancing around on the beach. The reason: he just scored a hot date!

He always liked her. She was totally bossy, but that made him even more attracted to her. She was really beautiful, and he couldn't stop thinking about her!

Usually Nate could move from one girl to the next, but he couldn't let this one go. After 6 months of knowing her, he finally made a move.

So tomorrow afternoon they were going on a nice, romantic boat ride on Nate's slightly dingy boat and stopping at Mako Island for a picnic lunch.

He picked her up that day at noon.

"That's a nice dress," Nate commented.

"Thank you," replied Sophie. She wore a little lacey white dress. It wasn't her usual style, but she wanted to look perfect for a date she secretly wished to happen since she met Nate. Sure he was a bit over-the-top, but his awesome keyboarding and optimistic attitude just made him irresistible.

They walked hand-in-hand to the docks. Zane was just getting off his yacht when he saw them. He freaked out mentally, froze physically. He decided to look the other way. It was too weird.

The couple didn't notice him. They were too love-struck to see anything but each other.

They got to the boat, set sail, and went toward Mako. They talked about how great the each other was, Rikki's, the weather, and their favorite bands. It was almost awkward, but neither of them regretted the date.

Until Nate's crappy boat went bonkers.

First the steering went out, then they couldn't turn the boat off. They didn't think to anchor the thing, so it crashed into a giant rock.

Nate hung on, but Sophie flew off the boat and into the water!

"Ahh! Sophie?" yelled Nate. She disappeared!

He jumped in, and looked around. He spotted her inside an underwater cave. He swam as fast as he could toward her. Blood was pouring out of her leg, and she was unconscious.

When he got to her, he felt totally out of breath. There was some light at the other side of the cave, so he used the rest of his energy to get her out from underwater.

They were in a nice opening in the cave. It was mainly above water, but there was a pool that led to the ocean. Nate took Sophie out of the pool, and he wrapped his soaking shirt around her damaged leg. He sat there, worried, waiting for her to wake up.


	7. Chapter 7

"Please, Sophie, wake up. Please, please wake up."

Nate's been worried sick about Sophie. She's been unconscious for nearly an hour. The two were still in that stupid cave on Mako Island. At least Sophie's leg stopped bleeding.

Nate heard a splash in the little pool of water nearby. A girl's head emerged. He nearly didn't believe it, but Bella suddenly popped up to save them in the middle of nowhere!

Then she left suddenly. Because she had a mermaid tail. And Nate saw it, briefly.

"I'm crazy," he whispered.

"I'M CRAZY!" he yelled.

"Huh, what?" asked Sophie, suddenly awake by his screaming.

"Nothing," said Nate. He didn't want /her/ to think he was crazy. "You're awake, finally!" He hugged her.

"Oww," said Sophie in response.

"Sorry," said Nate. "So what should we do? We're stuck in this cave on Mako, with no boat. My cell phone doesn't work, and… is there even a practical way out of this cave?

"Yes, well they're steps. I've been here before." Sophie looked at him with what she thought was her cutest face. "Carry me out?"

"Sure," said Nate, scooping her up. He was still rattled by his craziness, so he hoped she didn't notice he was shaking.

She led him to the main beach, where most mainland visitors kept there boats while exploring, and the two found an old fisherman there. He gave them a ride to shore and even drove Sophie to the clinic, where they said her wound would heal on its own and didn't even need stitches.

Nate woke up the next morning, thinking all of that was a dream until he spotted Sophie on the beach, gash in her leg.


	8. Chapter 8

"Urgent! Meeting my house now!" –Text message from Bella.

It was sent to Cleo, Rikki, and Emma.

They all got there in less than 5 minutes!

Rikki opened her door, others in tow, without knocking.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I was just at Mako. I… I came out of the water and saw Nate there. With Sophie!"

"Whoa, /Nate/ was with… /Sophie/? What?" Rikki looked absolutely disgusted.

"That's not the point! It's just that—"

"He saw you!" cut in Emma, wide-eyed.

"Exactly! So what should I do?"

"You mean 'what should /we/ do?' We're in this together," said Cleo.

Bella smiled for a second, despite all the chaos. "Then what should we do?"

"I got nothing," said Rikki.

"Me either," shrugged Cleo.

They all looked at Emma. "What?" Emma asked. "I don't always have a plan."

"Well think of one!" commanded Rikki.

"I guess we should all make sure he doesn't tell or confront Bella, at least. And maybe get the guys to help, too," tried Emma.

The others nodded in agreement. What other options did they have?


	9. Chapter 9

Will was sitting at a booth, reading a good book, when Nate ran up to him.

"Did you know that your girlfriend is a mermaid?" he asked somewhat quietly but bluntly.

"No, but I guess she's as pretty as one," Bella told Will about the incident. He really wanted to convince Nate that a lie was the truth, sure it sounded bad, but it wasn't.

"No, seriously man. I was at Mako, that creepy jungle island, and she was there… but she was half fish." Nate said dramatically.

Will smiled. "I don't believe you, sorry."

"No, I can prove it. Have you noticed the songs she wrote? How mermaid-specific her lyrics are? Like what kind of not-fish would write 'I'm no ordinary girl, I'm from the deep blue underworld'?"

"Come on, Nate, she likes to swim. You like high heels, doesn't mean you're a girl." Will remembered walking in on Nate in high heels and shuddered inwardly.

"Don't tell anyone about that, Will. …Anyway, I don't care if you don't believe your girlfriend's a mermaid, but she is." And with that, he stomped off.

5 minutes later, Rikki came up to him. Yet another person that kept him from reading his novel.

"Do you know who your annoying cousin really is?" she interrogated.

"Charlotte?" Will asked.

"No, your other annoying cousin I know. Yes Charlotte! Did you know that she used to have mermaid powers?"

"Really? Were you guys friends or something?"

"No. No, no, no. We weren't. At all." Rikki gagged at the memories.

"Oh… well, then. What was the relationship then?"

"She was basically an evil-supervillian mermaid. She tried to expose us. And kill us. But she lost her mermaid powers, don't worry."

"What? That's crazy! Sure Charlotte can be a witch sometimes but she's not /that/ bad." Will actually wasn't sure.

"Well it's true." Rikki's watch beeped. "I need to run. And was your grandmother's name Gracie, by chance?"

"Yeah?" Will wondered where this was going.

"She was a mermaid. Bye!" Rikki ran off, leaving Will almost as crazy as Nate.


	10. Chapter 10

Although it seems a little too coincidental, yet another awesome H2O character was visiting for the summer: Ash!

He was having a welcome-back party at his house, and everyone's invited, of course. Music blaring, couples and friends dancing, people pushing people into the pool, mermaids in the opposite corner of the yard to avoid the pool... Fun time.

Nate's dancing alone (…and badly); his lady didn't arrive yet. She finally did, with Will and Charlotte. Will goes to find Bella, while the two girls find Nate.

"Hey sweetie," Sophie said with a peck on the cheek. "How's it going?"

"Great, and… wait, is that Charlotte? You look so different!"

"Yeah, hey Nate," said Charlotte with a fake smile.

"Charlotte's my cousin. She's staying with us for the summer," cut in Sophie.

"Oh, wow. Really?" Nate wasn't very fond of Charlotte, but he was nice to her for Sophie's sake.

Charlotte glanced at the pool-avoiders hiding in the corner. "Those girls are so pathetic. Too bad they have to avoid water."

"Yeah, from the time I spent with them, they seem like they have a sort-of fear of water." Sophie always thought it was odd, but she just didn't really bother talking about it, usually.

"It's weird…" started Nate. "Because she's a mer… water lover, I mean. Sort of. I don't know, just, ummm…" He didn't get how a mermaid could want to avoid water.

Charlotte snapped her eyes toward him when she heard what he said. "What? What did you just say?"

Nate looked at Sophie, who had a questioning look about her. "Nothing, never mind."

"No, you know they're mermaids, don't you?" Charlotte said in a strangely scary voice.

Sophie looked at her like she was mental. She was very embarrassed that her cousin was acting like this (even though it was normal for Charlotte) with the boy Sophie really didn't want her relationship ruined with.

Nate's eyes widened. "I'm not crazy? I swear I saw her. I saw Bella with a tail!"

"No way! I guessed she was a mermaid, but she actually is? Ha! So much for 3 being their sacred number."

"What?" Nate was now officially clueless…

…But Sophie was totally clueless this whole time. "Wait. You think that Bella's a mermaid?"

"And Cleo, Rikki, and Emma," said Charlotte. "They're all freaks. Don't believe me? Get them wet. Ten seconds after water, watch them magically grow tails!"

Sophie took the challenge, just because she wanted it to be true. One because she didn't want to admit that both her cousin and her boyfriend were crazy. Two because she could use them to her advantage, with all the money she'd make from exposing them. She walked up to the group, water bottle in her hand. She said a brief hello to Ash, and "accidently spilled" water on Cleo's head. The mermaid screamed and ran away, the rest of the anti-pool crew, boys and girls alike, following her. Sophie also followed.


	11. Chapter 11

Cleo was inside, frantically trying to get the water off of her. But she turned into a mermaid anyway.

Rikki, Emma, Bella, Ash, Lewis, Zane, and Will followed her to the sunroom. Sophie stood in the doorway, unnoticed by the people that faced the opposite way, focusing on Cleo. She was freaking out. I wish this was a video because I bet her face would be priceless. She didn't dare say anything as she watched the scene unfold:

"That was close." – Lewis

"She obviously deliberately spilled water on you. It's really suspicious." – Emma

"Here, I'll get the water off." – Rikki

Rikki evaporates the water on Cleo.

Cleo sparkles and magically changes clothes, along with the bottom part of her body.

"Hey Ash, we need more pizza out here!" – Random guy outside.

"Kay, coming." – Ash

Ash turns to leave, but notices the girl in the doorway.

"Hey, holy crap, it's Charlotte's cousin!" – Ash

Everyone turns to look at Sophie.

Their eyes are suddenly bigger than anyone ever thought they could be.

Sophie runs away.

Sophie bumps into Nate and Charlotte.

"Let's go. This is too weird." – Sophie

Charlotte laughs.

The trio leaves.


	12. Chapter 12

The members of the nearly anti-mermaid group were sitting on cushy chairs in Charlotte's veranda.

"So how much money could we make, letting some hot-shot scientist know about these half-fish freaks?" asked Sophie. Money was the only thing on her mind.

"It depends on who we tell, but I'm sure we could end up making millions!" commented Charlotte.

"Why don't we just keep them for ourselves, letting the public come in to see them for fees?" questioned Nate.

"Well that would give them time to escape, and believe me, they'll be able to get out of any cage they're in. If we just let an official know, then we can grab the money and let them deal with it," Charlotte explained.

Nate narrowed his eyes. "How come you know so much about this?"

"I have my ways," Charlotte smiled, but inside she was hoping they would never find out about who she used to be.

"Then it's settled," Sophie said while playing with the straw in her drink. "We'll turn them in to any biologist who's willing to listen."

The rest nodded, excited for what they thought would happen in their future.


	13. Chapter 13

Nate was casually running along the beach. He used to do this twice a day, but it was only to impress the ladies. Currently he wanted to stay in shape for one certain lady.

He slowed to catch his breath at a particularly abandoned area of the beach. He looked ahead and saw one little boy lying in the sand, reading.

"Hey," Nate said, prodding the boy with his foot. "You're Emma's brother, right?"

"Yeah," Elliot answered, squinting up at him.

"So," Nate started, sitting down next to him. "Do ya know she's a mermaid?"

Elliot's eyes widened. "She actually /told/ you? I'm her own brother, but she never told me anything. I guess I never knew her well enough. I –"

"She never told me," cut in Nate. "I kind-of… I kinda found out on accident."

"Oh, well, I don't get why she has to be so secretive. It doesn't really matter that she's different, you know?" Elliot vented. "Did she think I wouldn't love her as much or something if I knew? I mean, she's my sister! No one could even begin to know how much I love her. I just wish she loved me enough to tell me stuff that big… Being treated like this sucks."

Nate was shocked at what was coming out of that kid's mouth. "Yeah, um, I guess so… but I don't know if I'd ever understand that, since I'm an only child and all. So, are you gonna tell her about this eventually? How mad you are at her?"

"I dunno if I'm /mad/ at her, necessarily." Elliot shifted positions. "I can't really begin to understand how terrible it must've been to go through all that. She didn't have a choice to become a mermaid or anything… It just happened to her randomly one day, and she dealt with it the best she could ever since. I'm just going to let it be for now, and hopefully she'll be able to tell me the truth by choice next time."

The boys just sat there, staring at the ocean. Nate, who's almost never been serious before, had a look on his face that appeared like he was practicing being serious for years. He was deep in thought about everything that was going on.

"I have to go," he said, suddenly getting up and running away. "Thank you very much, Elliot. Hope we talk later!"


	14. Chapter 14

Sophie and Charlotte were taking a jog around town.

"Sophie," complained Charlotte, out of breath. "I'm thirsty. Can we stop somewhere?"

"Sure, whatever," Sophie said stopping in front of the nearest restaurant. It just happened to be Rikki's.

"Whadd'ya want?" asked the new waitress after the two sat down. They ordered some strawberry-flavored drinks… then they noticed Rikki at the counter.

"Hey, I forgot, this place belongs to that fish and her boyfriend," sneered Charlotte. "Let's piss her off."

The cousins approached the bar with innocent looks on their faces.

"What?" asked an annoyed Rikki when they approached.

"Oh, nothing, just getting some smoothies," said Charlotte in her fake-sweet voice.

"Whatever. Just leave as soon as possible. I don't feel like messing with you right now," Rikki snapped at them.

"Oh, alright, although I do enjoy your company," Charlotte said as she picked up a nearby drink sneakily. As Rikki started to turn her back, Charlotte dumped the whole thing on her.

"Oops," Charlotte said, shrugging with a stupid little smile on her face. "So sorry. But at least now you smell like fruits instead or fish."

Rikki looked as though she was about to strangle them. Then she remembered what would happen in 8, 7, 6 seconds, and took off into Zane's empty office, just in time to fall over.


	15. Chapter 15

"Sophie, I've been looking everywhere for you! We really need to talk," Nate started as he burst into Rikki's a few minutes after the Rikki incident.

"Alright, what about?" Sophie asked as she grabbed Nate's hands from across the table.

"Well, I'm having second thoughts about turning the girls in. I mean, nothing was their fault, and they're not hurting anyone or anything. So why do we want this on our consciences?"

"Oh, come on!" Charlotte cut in. "You are unbelievable! Are you saying you don't want to be responsible for a huge scientific discovery? Earn millions of dollars? Now to mention never work again? Sophie agrees with me, we're doing this not only for our good, but for the greater good, right, Soph?"

"The greater good?" Sophie said. Well, yeah. I guess—"

"See?" Charlotte interrupted. "She agrees, so why are you being such a wimp? Seriously, Nate, what's up with you?"

"Sophie," Nate pleaded. "Do you really believe that—"

"Of course she does! Now, if you would excuse us, we girls are going to go call the marine biologist I've been contacting right now. C'mon, Sophie."

As Charlotte and Sophie walked off, Sophie looked back. Nate was pleading, begging with his eyes that she should come back to his side. Charlotte grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the restaurant, and she left him.


End file.
